Your New Role…

CNN’s global Visuals team is seeking a senior developer to create ambitious,innovativeand accessible digital journalism. This role is for visual thinkerwho can turn complex ideas into intuitive, high-impact experiences across breaking news, enterprise reportingand major planned coverage.

As a senior member of the Visuals team, you will collaborate with editors, reporters, designers, datajournalistsand other developers to build interactive stories, reusable tools and visual formats that deepen CNN’s journalism. You will work across a range of storytelling approaches, from fast-turn projects and live experiences to immersive, highly producedstories.

We are particularly interested in candidates with experienceworking with 3D tocreatespatial storytelling experiences. That could include work withphotogrammetry,WebGL, 3D mapping, 3D modeling,animationor other emerging formats. You should be excited about applying those skills thoughtfully: not as a technical exercise, but when they offer the clearest and most compelling way to help audiences understand a story.

Your Role Accountabilities…

• Develop interactive graphics, visual stories and digital experiences for breaking news, enterprisejournalismand major planned events.

• Partner with editors,reportersand designers early in the reporting process to identifythe strongest storytelling approaches and determinewhere custom development can add value.

• Create engaging storytelling experiencesusing 3D models and photogrammetry, including interactive maps, explanatory models,animationsand immersive formats.

• Build responsive,accessibleand performant experiences that work effectively across devices and platforms.

• Develop reusable components, templates and tools that help CNN’s Visuals team move more quickly and consistently across the news cycle.

• Collaborate with data and graphics editors to integrate live data, automatedfeedsand visual analysis into interactive experiences.

• Contribute to editorial brainstorming,prototypingand experimentation with emerging technologies.

• Work closely with product,engineeringand platform partners when projects require broader technical coordination.

• Review code, documentworkflowsand share skills with colleagues across the Visuals team.

• Helpmaintainhigh standards for accessibility, performance, reliability and user experience.

Qualifications & Experience…  

• At least 7 years of experience in interactive development, creative technology, visual journalism or a comparable digital storytelling environment. 

• A strong portfolio of published interactive work that demonstrates excellent technical execution, visual judgment and audience-centered thinking. 

• Experience with modern front-end frameworks, component-based development and Git-based workflows. 

• Demonstrated experience building 3D or spatial storytelling experiences using tools such as WebGL, Three.js, Mapbox GL, MapLibre, deck.gl or similar technologies. Fluency in HTML, CSS and JavaScript is required; familiarity with Python is a plus. 

• Experience incorporating AI-assisted tools into development workflows, or an interest in thoughtfully using AI to improve coding, prototyping and production practices. 

• A strong understanding of responsive design, accessibility, browser performance and cross-platform testing. 

• Experience collaborating closely with designers, editors, reporters and data journalists from concept through publication. 

• Ability to work on both deadline-driven news coverage and more complex medium- and long-term projects. 

• Strong communication skills and an ability to explain technical possibilities and tradeoffs clearly to non-technical partners. 

• Familiarity with data visualization libraries, automated data pipelines or newsroom publishing workflows is a plus. 

• Experience with motion design, animation, computer graphics or creative coding is a plus. 

• Experience building interactive election features, results displays or other data-driven news products – or an interest in applying development skills to elections coverage – is a plus. 

If you don’t have every one of these skills, that’s OK. We want to hear from candidates who are passionate about this work and eager to bring their unique perspective and experience to the role.